Blimey rustle, people will start talking about us!!!
IR focuses on sustained instrument flight, airways joining and leaving and RT in addittion to the skills taught in the IMC.
Procedures are flown to minimums and within tighter speed, height tolerances than those given for the IMC. Allthough my IMC was taught to the same standards as the IR by an excellant instructor and I know a good number of people who were also taught the same way.
It is basically the same thing with more practice!
There is a tendancy for those with higher qualifications to look down there noses at those "beneath" them. I don't believe that a ticket belies experiance. Give me a thousand hour PPL with current IMC experiance to match over a 250hr fATPL any day.
I keep saying this, currency and experiance count over any badge.